Current estimates project that most Class Members will receive about $1,800, with some Class Members receiving much more depending on the level of activity in their IIM accounts. The $3.4 billion Settlement was reached between the Departments of the Interior and Treasury and the individual Indian plaintiffs in December 2009.
Full Answer
How long did it take to settle the Indian trust fund?
Government Settles Indian Trust Fund Suit. After 13 years of litigation and 122 years of waiting, the United States government is finally paying Native Americans for profits earned on 54 million acres of Native land held “in trust” by the federal government since 1887.
What is the total settlement amount for the estate tax case?
This settlement amount totals $3.4 billion dollars and is broken in two parts: $1.5 billion to Historical Class and Trust Administration Class (Trust Class) members and $1.9 billion to buy back small inherited land interest.
How much will the government pay Native Americans in the settlement?
Under the terms of the settlement, the government will set aside $1.4 billion “to compensate [Native landholders] for their historical accounting claims, and to resolve potential claims that prior U.S. officials mismanaged the administration of trust assets.”
What do Indian tribes do with the money they receive?
the tribes use the funds for various purposes, which may include making per capita payments to their members. Other Indian tribes have directed that all or part of the settlement proceeds be paid into a trust account established or maintained by the Secretary of the Interior, through the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians,
How much money will be set aside for Indian scholarships?
How much was the settlement for AIG?
About this website
How much money does a Native American get from the government?
Ever wonder how much assistance the federal government allocates to American Indian tribes and communities each year? It comes to about $20 billion a year, give or take a few hundred million dollars, a document from the Department of the Interior shows.
How much was the Cobell settlement?
$3.4 billionThe Cobell settlement was approved by Congress on November 30, 2010 (Claims Resolution Act of 2010) and signed by President Obama on December 8, 2010. The $3.4 billion Cobell Settlement includes a $1.9 billion Trust Land Consolidation Fund and $1.5 billion in direct payments to class members.
What was the Salazar settlement?
The case was settled for $3.4 billion in 2009. $1.4 billion was allocated to be paid to the plaintiffs and $2 billion allocated to repurchase fractionated land interests from those distributed under the Dawes Act and to return it to reservations and communal tribal ownership.
Do Native Americans get money from the government?
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) does not disburse cash to individuals, and contrary to popular belief, the U.S. government does not mail out basic assistance checks to people simply because they are Native American.
How much money is in the Indian trust fund?
$634 millionHow much money is in the Indian Trust Fund today? At present, the Indian Trust balance sits at over $634 million. This money is mostly divided into two types of Indian Moneys held in trust: $400 million in Capital Moneys: All money that comes from the sale of surrendered lands or capital assets.
Who pays Native American tribes?
The U.S. government officially recognizes 574 Indian tribes in the contiguous 48 states and Alaska. These federally recognized tribes are eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, either directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts.
What is an Individual Indian Money account?
An Individual Indian Money (IIM) account is an interest-bearing account managed by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA) on behalf of an individual who has money or other assets held in trust for them by the Federal government.
How many American Indians accounts did the Cobell lawsuit ask the federal government to provide accounting for?
300,000 individual IndianThe Native American Rights Fund and private co-counsel filed this class action case in federal district court in Washington, D.C. in 1996 to force the federal government to provide an accounting to approximately 300,000 individual Indian money account holders who have their funds held in trust by the federal government ...
How do I find out if I have an IIM account?
How do I know if I have an IIM account? If you aren't sure if you have an IIM account, you can request an IIM ledger report from the Office of the Special Trustee (OST). If you have an account, your IIM ledger report will tell you your balance and any deposits made into the account since it was established.
What Native American tribe gets paid the most?
the Shakopee MdewakantonToday, the Shakopee Mdewakanton are believed to be the richest tribe in American history as measured by individual personal wealth: Each adult, according to court records and confirmed by one tribal member, receives a monthly payment of around $84,000, or $1.08 million a year.
How much money do Navajos get a month?
The average payment would be $454 for adults and $151 for minors, according to the controller's website. But the decision is expected to be made based on need, up to $1,500 for adults and $500 for children. More money could be added to the fund next month if other projects fall through.
How much does a Native American get when they turn 18?
The resolution approved by the Tribal Council in 2016 divided the Minors Fund payments into blocks. Starting in June 2017, the EBCI began releasing $25,000 to individuals when they turned 18, another $25,000 when they turned 21, and the remainder of the fund when they turned 25.
How many American Indians accounts did the Cobell lawsuit ask the federal government to provide accounting for?
300,000 individual IndianThe Native American Rights Fund and private co-counsel filed this class action case in federal district court in Washington, D.C. in 1996 to force the federal government to provide an accounting to approximately 300,000 individual Indian money account holders who have their funds held in trust by the federal government ...
What is Individual Indian Money?
An Individual Indian Money (IIM) account is an interest-bearing account managed by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA) on behalf of an individual who has money or other assets held in trust for them by the Federal government.
What is the Cobell litigation?
The Cobell litigation sprang out of the federal government's trust responsibility with respect to three groups of money accounts held in trust for individual Indian beneficiaries. These accounts are commonly referred to as the Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts.
What is the Carcieri fix?
A Carcieri fix would advance tribal sovereignty and benefit tribal economies. Trust land is a special legal status by which title to land is acquired by the federal government and held for the benefit of tribal nations or Native people.
How much money will be set aside for Indian scholarships?
According to Interior, up to $60 million will be set aside—“in order to provide owners with an additional incentive to sell their fractionated interests”—for an educational scholarship fund to help American Indian students attend college and vocational school.
How much was the settlement for AIG?
Some business reports characterized the settlement as a “pittance,” particularly when compared to the recent $180 billion bailout for insurance giant AIG, noting that “the $3.4 billion [settlement] amounts to roughly a third of Goldman Sachs’s government bailout. It’s little more than one-tenth the loss the government expects to suffer from its AIG bailout.”
Where to send documents to Indian Trust Settlement?
For details on the documents needed in connection with estates, visit www.indiantrust.com or contact the claims administrator by calling 1-800-961-6109; emailing [email protected]; or sending correspondence to Indian Trust Settlement, PO Box 9577, Dublin OH 43017-4877.
What is the settlement amount for IIM?
The settlement provides for a $1.5 billion fund to compensate an estimated 500,000 affected individual trust beneficiaries who have or had IIM accounts or owned trust land, ...
When did the DOI settle the lawsuit?
In late 2010, after nearly 15 years of litigation, the class action litigation initiated by key plaintiff Elouise Cobell v. Salazar against the Department of Interior (DOI) settled for $3.4 billion, and then-President Barack Obama signed legislation authorizing the reimbursement of funds to eligible class members. The final deadline for submitting documentation so that payment can be made has been set by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (the “Court”) as Nov. 27, 2017. Unfortunately, thousands of people who are eligible to receive funds have yet to come forward, others have failed to keep their addresses current with the claims administrator and still others have passed away and their heirs have yet to present a death certificate and/or the necessary documentation to substantiate the right to inherit.
When did Alaska Natives open IIM accounts?
30, 2009, who had an open IIM account anytime between Oct. 25, 1994 and Sept . 30, 2009, and whose account had at least one cash transaction.
How to contact Indian Trust Settlement?
Specific questions about your account, such as how much payments will be, should be directed to your Indian Trust Settlement attorney’s call center: 1-800-961-6109.
Who was the historical class payment mailed to?
Historical Class payments were mailed to Native allotment owners who had at least one cash transaction in their account- cash that may have been paid for a land sale, rent, a right of way, or permit.
When did Chippewa Indians get audited?
In 1988 , leaders of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Band of Chippewa Indians “were dismayed at the overall lack of money available for distribution” in the per capita distribution, the article said. The tribe then requested an audit from the Interior Department Office of the Inspector General and “also hired independent accountants who confirmed to the tribe that on this issue, ‘you don't need an accounting firm, you need a law firm.’”
What tribes were represented by the Native American Rights Fund?
On June 10, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia finalized the settlement, which was reached in the Court of Federal Claims with the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation of Montana, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, and the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians of Minnesota, the Interior Department announced. The tribes were represented by the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), according to the website designated for the lawsuit.
How much did the Pembinas pay for land?
In 1905, the Pembinas ceded roughly 10 million acres of land west of the Red River area to the government for a price of 10 cents an acre as part of what is known as the “Ten Cent Treaty,” according to the 1982 report. The report said 8 million acres of the ceded land “extended from the present day north central part of North Dakota to the Canadian border.”
When was the Haaland class action lawsuit filed?
Haaland class action breach of trust lawsuit was filed in 1992. Studio portrait of the Pembina Chippewa Delegation taken in Washington, D.C., in 1874. Photograph provided by the National Museum of the American Indian. (Photo/pembinasettlement.com)
How many acres were ceded to the Pembinas?
In 1964 and 1980, the Pembinas were awarded additional compensation for the land ceded in the 1863 treaty and more than 8 million acres of the land ceded in the “Ten Cent Treaty,” respectively, according to the lawsuit website and the 1982 report. These funds were put into trust in the Pembina Judgement Fund (PJF).
How much money will be set aside for Indian scholarships?
According to Interior, up to $60 million will be set aside—“in order to provide owners with an additional incentive to sell their fractionated interests”—for an educational scholarship fund to help American Indian students attend college and vocational school.
How much was the settlement for AIG?
Some business reports characterized the settlement as a “pittance,” particularly when compared to the recent $180 billion bailout for insurance giant AIG, noting that “the $3.4 billion [settlement] amounts to roughly a third of Goldman Sachs’s government bailout. It’s little more than one-tenth the loss the government expects to suffer from its AIG bailout.”
